Tomo Fujita Guitar Wisdom

Thank you Yuji for this thread!

Yes! That song is really good!
Charlie Christian "Rose Room"

First try something simple...so blues is good! Once you can transcribe simple blues then you can try something a little more challenging. Jazz blues? Or more?

Pick comfortable medium tempo. Not too fast! Not too slow!

Pick any good melodic solo! Any solos that sounds good to you!
No need to do hard songs or very technical in harmony.

You can do guitar solo or vocal melody, trumpet or piano.
No need to limit...

Blue Monk melody... any melody to transcribe.
Good way to start!

Skip any fast solos. Or 16th notes.... pick simple one.
Good medium tempo.

Thanks so much for sharing!
Definitely you want to transcribe entire solo, all the notes!

Did you transcribe this solo? If not, you should do this!
https://tomovhxtv.vhx.tv/videos/fb-bb-blues-soloing-etude

Tomo

Thank you Kurt!

First you need to know chords.... otherwise you transcribe notes that you't don't know what intervals against each chords so it is hard to hear those colors.

Charlie Christian plays a lot of chord tone and chromatic notes so... once you know "F7"
He starts M3 of F7! Then M3 5 b7 9 13 5!

Without knowing that chords... it's not really effective to look for JUST notes.

Bb Blues solo etude...
Learn it, Play it and analyze it!
Not Cheese it!

Tomo

Thank you Tomo. This is helpful

I won't "Cheese" it.

Kurt
Trying to avoid pure destruction of my dream

Funny part is if I imagine "Cheese it"
I know that taste very well!

Music, song, chords, melodies...solos...
Same as "Cheese it" You need to taste!

Tomo

"Cheez-It" snacks must be in the Hall of Fame of processed food. We used to love them riding in the back of truck in the Camper when we were kids.

See... you know! I know!

Same thing... Just like we know " BB King" phrase!

Thank you, Yuji!
I'm just starting transcribing without looking at videos. I can relate to so much of what you wrote. The links are helpful too!
I realized recently that listening without watching videos really made a difference in how I hear
Especially listening back to my practice recordings to hear noise etc.,.
I can get distracted by his fingers too. I'm so thankful the videos are there though. The fingering choices are important.
I doubt I would stick with audio only lessons.

It's nice that we aren't trying to figure this out alone.

Kurt

Thank you Yuji for your reply!

Good job leaning these. I am so happy to hear that.

After you transcribe any solo, you still can figure out any possible other fingering and other positions on same phrase.

And you can review those solos that I already have transcribed ... review it So you can remember those solos. Human brains are supposed to forget stuff.

Play it slower than actual solo is very good! Always better to practice slower anyway. Don't worry! Keep your pace and enjoy it!

Yes! After you transcribed some solos, then you have a few great solo examples. Think about these in your head and slow them down in your head and arrange something to your own.

R 3 7 Swing Groove is so great for your ears, for your improvisation! After you play these many times, you can imagine that sound in your head at any time! So you can practice your soloing at any time!

Thank you.

Tomo

When I watch Tomo-san plays, be it a solo or rhythm, it just looks so effortless and he’s in total control with a lot of dynamics. It’s magic!

Thanks so much Yuji for your kind words!

Just because I practice more foundation focused.

Thank you.

Tomo

Kurt - I find not watching the videos to be key. One of the things that I do is when I hear one of Tomo's etudes that I want to learn is to grab the audio from the lesson or YouTube video and import it into an app on my iPad called Amazing Slow Downer. It allows me to slow down the track without changing the pitch, you can set start and stop points and loop sections. It is quite an amazing app.

I'll then transcribe and notate on a staff (not tab). This forces me to not only get the notes right, but to also get the rhythm right. I'm very fortunate that my son is a Berklee grad, so I have a built in proof reader for my transcriptions, and trust me, I do lean on him, especially for the rhythms and the "how would you write this out" questions I have.

The next thing I do with these pieces in to analyze them. After I have it all written out, I take a yellow highlighter and in each measure I highlight the chord tones. It was almost shocking to me how much Tomo used chord tones and the triad shapes in the Bb blues etude. There is SO MUCH to be learned at this point by studying these pieces measure by measure, plus you can steal some of Tomo's pretty sweet licks.

After I've transcribed a few pieces, I have gone back and carefully watched Tomo play some of these etudes, and some of the fingerings that I've found and that work for me are different from what Tomo is playing.

I think the etudes like the Bb blues are among the best lessons on GW. You need the foundations, you need to know the major scale, triads, arpeggios, etc. But these etudes show you practical and more importantly, musical applications of everything you're learning.

You're very welcome!

Thanks for posting this thread!

Tomo

Thanks Matt for sharing your experience. Yes! It's effective and useful for studying the details.

Good job!

Tomo

The following is NOT off the top of MY head :-)
Kurt

The benefits of transcription in music include:

Enhances Music Theory Understanding: Transcribing helps musicians analyze and understand the structure of music, including chord progressions and scales.

Improves Ear Training Skills: Regular transcription practice develops the ability to identify musical elements by sound alone, enhancing improvisation and ensemble playing.

Aids in Learning and Performing Songs: Transcribing allows musicians to learn and perform songs more effectively by understanding their structure.

Develops Aural Skills: Transcribing by ear enhances aural skills and deepens the connection with music.

Cultivates Musical Imagination: Transcribing encourages musicians to pay attention to detail and develop their musical imagination.
These benefits contribute to overall musical development and performance.

I love Sonny Rollins Yuji.
I am ashamed to say I saw him once at a fancy Theater after dinner.
I fell asleep!
It was so warm.
And so dark.
And I was so full...
Kurt

And had too many drinks? 😁. I saw Sonny at the Detroit jazz festival (I’m in the area) maybe about 10 years ago? Had a good time there. One of the last jazz legends. He even played with Bud Powell and Fats Navarro! Amazing how long his career is (or maybe was at this point).
Yuji

Thank you Kurt for pretty chords!

Chord melody is good!

Lovely 3 6 2 5 too.

Tomo

Thank you Tomo. I'm going to keep trying!

So much inspiration from you!

Thank you.

Tomo

Thank you Yuji! I appreciate that.
I guess being a fan of the Seattle Mariners, (the only team that has never gone to the World Series), I love me some up-tempo tunes.
I guess I'm just a hard-working optimist :-)
Go Tigers!
Kurt

Is that right? Had no idea. Will see if Lions make to the Superbowl or Mariners make to the World Series first 😄

Just hope they don't move your Pistons to Oklahoma :-(
If I ever get my Seattle Supersonics Basketball team back I will go to their first road game against the OKC Thunder and also go to the Bob Dylan Cultural Center.
Kurt